Round By Round: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Steve Forbes

The telecast is on from the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, as Oscar De La Hoya gets set to take on Steve Forbes. Jim Lampley says 27,000 fans are on hand for the bout, which is pretty impressive if it's true.

It's interesting that the announcers are selling it like Oscar is doing the fans a favor by putting this fight on HBO. They mention his close call against Felix Sturm from a few years ago, plus the Mayweather family melodrama that swirls around this fight.

The first video segment explores the relationship between De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Sr. Oscar says they work together perfectly even though they are complete opposites. Forbes, of course, also has a Mayweather connection, switching from Roger to Jeff for this fight after Floyd voiced his displeasure. He says it was an easy transition between the two brothers.

Classic third-person lines by the Golden Boy: "I think we're going to see a more relaxed Oscar, and that Oscar can be dangerous." More exploration of the Sturm fight, with De La Hoya promising he won't make the same mistake again.

A pre-taped interview plays with Larry Merchant asking De La Hoya about why he's so popular despite some losses, how he won over the skeptical Mexican fans, his three-fight retirement plan, the future of Golden Boy and his personal post-boxing plans.

Celebrities and boxers on hand include Tobey Maguire, Sylvester Stallone, Brooke Shields, Sugar Ray Leonard and Bernard Hopkins. Finally, we start to get down to business with the Mexican and U.S. national anthems. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls handles the latter.

The tale of the tape shows De La Hoya as the taller but older man. Both fighters officially weighed in at the contractually obligated weight of 150 pounds. Forbes comes out first, entering to "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. As usual, traditional Mexican music accompanies the Golden Boy's walk to the ring, which is especially long tonight because of the way the Home Depot Center, which is usually a soccer stadium, is set up for boxing.

Michael Buffer does the introductions and the crowd shows De La Hoya plenty of love. And we're ready for action.

Round 1

Both men open cautiously. Forbes comes in behind his jab and is quickly repulsed by lefts from Oscar. One-two to the body by DLH. More jabs by Forbes and Oscar goes back to the body. Good body punches both ways. A stiff jab backs up Forbes. Jab and right to the body by Oscar. Steve getting hit by plenty of body shots in this round. Sudden good combo by Forbes right at the bell.

Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 2

Forbes' corner tells him to try to steal every round at the end. Oscar jabbing his way in and slugging to the body. Body shots and uppercuts slow Forbes, but he comes back firing a left hook. The pace slows in the middle of the round. Body combo by Oscar and no answer from Forbes. Now he goes to the body with a right. The announcers think Forbes is blocking a lot of shots, but he's not busy enough in response. Nice flurry as De La Hoya bounces around. Forbes scores with a left on the chin.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 3

Body combo by Oscar to open the round. Emanuel Steward thinks he looks faster and sharper at this weight. Forbes showing a little more movement but still getting caught by some jabs. De La Hoya showing some wear on the nose and under one eye. Forbes backed up a bit by the jab again. Nice left-right to the head by DLH. Right hand upstairs by Forbes; Steward thinks he's gaining confidence.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 4

Forbes flurries and backs DLH to the ropes. Body shots and a left upstairs. Oscar gets the fight back in the middle and goes back to the jab. Forbes tries the body as they tie up. Oscar throws a combo that's mostly blocked. Now Forbes is backed up but his defense looks solid. Both men land to the head. Neither lands anything significant in the last 10 seconds.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 Forbes
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 5

Oscar opens working faster but Forbes is right there with him. A jabbing contest breaks out. Forbes goes to the body. DLH comes in but Forbes ducks away. This round slows into a chess match as no one wants to leave themselves open. DLH doubles up on the jab and uppercuts inside. Forbes covers up to weather an Oscar flurry. Forbes is fighting a smart fight but just not landing enough shots to win rounds.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 6

Right-left combo and more jabs from Forbes. Nice left by Oscar in the middle of an exchange. Forbes flurries and DLH blocks most of it. Oscar punches his way inside to the delight of the crowd. Forbes is cut outside the right eye. Short left stops Forbes from coming forward. Nice left upstairs by DLH, then a right. That may have been Oscar's best round yet.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 7

Oscar returns to the jab and right to the body. Lots of swinging and missing inside. Forbes goes to the body but eats a jab. Nice body-head combo by DLH makes Forbes wince. Good feint by Oscar and he scores with a quick left. Lefts to the body inside by DLH. Flurry along the ropes and Forbes has to scurry to get away. Another great round for Oscar.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 8

Slower start to this round. Forbes trying to jab. Nice little flurry; he's still game. Oscar piskcs off some shots and settles back in. Left to the body by DLH. Quick left catches Oscar coming in. Repeated lefts to the body by Oscar, who refuses to be tied up. Forbes escapes some fire in the corner. Kind of a cruise control type of round there.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 Forbes

Round 9

Is Oscar slowing or did he just take most of Round 8 off? Forbes jabs and throws a right to the body. Oscar goes back on the attack and drives Steve back. Two lefts score on the chin of Forbes. Now Forbes lands a few lefts and a quick right. Oscar still looking comfortable, landing jabs and hooks.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 10

CompuBox says Forbes landed only seven punches last round - that's not going to get it done. Two nice jabs by Oscar. Combos back Forbes up again. Now he comes forward though doesn't land much. Right uppercut starts a combo by DLH. Body shots by Forbes and they tie up. De La Hoya throwing from all angles now. Fans cheer as there's an exchange in the center of the ring.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 11

Looks like Oscar will cruise to the victory from here. Forbes stays busy but can't do much damage. Oscar tries some power lefts and returns to the jab. Both men go to the body. Flurry by DLH but Forbes shows he's not hurt. Sharp punches by Oscar with Forbes backed into the corner. They touch gloves at the end of the round.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Round 12

Jeff Mayweather tells Forbes to leave everything in the ring, but I can't see him going out on his shield. Nice lefts to the body and head by DLH. Big left to the body by Oscar as Steve jumps in. The crowd urges Oscar on as he looks to box all the way until the end. One minute to go. Now some boos as fans realize there won't be an explosive finish. Good right by Forbes but way, way too late. De La Hoya throws one final flurry as the fight winds down.


Franchise: 10-9 De La Hoya
Spartan117: 10-9 De La Hoya
Uatu: 10-9 De La Hoya

Franchise scores it 120-108 De La Hoya, Spartan117 and Uatu score it 119-109 De La Hoya. The judges score it 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109, all for the winner by unanimous decision, Oscar De La Hoya.

Oscar says that he was disapointed with his that he could not win by knock out or even knock him down but says that he knew it would be difficult to accomplish this. He says that he was glad he got to test an aggressive style. Oscar states that he wants to go after Mayweather but says the deal isn't set.